1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to anti-theft systems, specifically to an infant identification and security apparatus for identifying infants and preventing infant abductions in healthcare institutions.
2. Prior Art
Immediately after the birth of an infant, a small clamp is typically attached to the base of its umbilical cord to close it off, and the excess cord is cut off above the clamp. The remaining umbilical cord dries and falls off, along with the clamp, in about two weeks to leave a depression or navel on the infant's abdomen.
A variety of umbilical cord clamps have been offered. U.S. Pat. No. 3,204,636 to Kariher et al. (1965) shows an umbilical cord clamp with a pair of arms connected by a flexible hinge portion. An enlarged grip portion is arranged at the distal end of each arm. An extension with an oval hole is attached to one grip, and a L-shaped projection with an oval button at a distal end thereof is attached to the other grip. The oval button is radially offset with respect to the oval hole. When the arms are pressed together, the button is forced through the oval hole to lock the arms in a closed position. However, closing the clamp may be difficult, because the grips are positioned inwardly of the extension and projection, so that the required force is relatively high.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,854,482 to Laugherty et al. (1974) shows a clamp with hingeably connected arms, and grip portions arranged at the distal ends of the arms. A pair of flexible hooks extend inwardly from one grip for lockably mating with an open socket arranged on one side of the other grip. The hooks remain exposed after they are snapped into the open socket. Other umbilical cord clamps have been provided with security devices to combat infant abductions in healthcare institutions. U.S. Pat. No. 4,899,134 to Wheeless, Jr. (1990) shows a security umbilical cord clamp comprising a spring loop with a pair of handles extending from the ends thereof. A hidden triggering element is embedded within the loop for triggering a magnetic field alarm system, which typically includes a detection gate having twin vertical panels installed at a doorway. When the clamp and the attached infant are taken through the gate, the alarm is triggered. However, the Wheeless, Jr. clamp includes no locking mechanism, so that it can be easily defeated by simply removing it from the infant.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,006,830 to Merritt (1991) shows a security umbilical cord clamp with a pair of hinged arms, and grip portions arranged at the distal ends of the arms. The grip portions have inwardly pointing hooks arranged at their distal ends that interlock when the arms are pressed together around the umbilical cord of an infant. A triggering element is completely embedded within one arm for triggering an alarm system if the clamp is carried from a protected area. One arm is provided with a distinctive identification mark, which can be a serial number, bar code, color code, or letter combination. A bracelet with a corresponding distinctive identification mark is worn on a person authorized to carry the infant from the protected area, such as the infant's mother. Before anyone can carry the infant from the protected area, the mark on the person's bracelet is checked for correspondence with the mark on the infant's clamp. However, the information in a bar code can be read by unaided eyes, because a bar code typically includes a series of stripes and a corresponding numeric code, so that if the stripes cannot be read by a reader, the numeric code can be manually read by an operator and entered into the reader via a keypad. Therefore, in any embodiment, the mark is visible identification information that can be easily read with unaided eyes, so that a resourceful abductor can forge a matching bracelet. An abductor can also defeat the alarm system by prying the hooks apart and removing the clamp.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,281,228 to Wolfson (1994) shows an umbilical cord clamp with a pair of hinged arms, and a label affixed to one of the arms. A hook extending inwardly from one arm is arranged to interlock with a hole on the other arm. However, the Wolfson device offers no capability for triggering an alarm system, or a matching bracelet for the mother, so that it provides little security.
Although the Kariher and Laugherty clamps can each incorporate a security device, the Kariher clamp can be removed from the infant by simply prying the L-shape projection away from the extension, and the Laugherty clamp can be easily removed by pinching the hooks together to release them from the socket.